Co-built project by University of Côte d'Azur and the Nice-Côte d’Azur Metropolis, and financed within the framework of the State-Region Plan contract, IMREDD is an important player in the Eco-Vallée Plaine du Var, at the heart of the future urban technopolis Nice Méridia, developed and managed by the EPA Nice Ecovallée. Open to the University Course, this 5,000 m2 building, designed by architect Marc Barani, is exemplary in terms of energy and environmental performance. IMREDD is an original place for cooperation between academia, business, and the region.

The IMREDD building is financed as part of the State-Region Contractual Plan.

In the heart of the Nice Méridia urban technopole, IMREDD imagines the City of Tomorrow

At the heart of its regional development and contributing to its international renown and attractiveness, IMREDD – the University Côte d’Azur Institute for Partnerships and Innovation – embodies one of the guiding principles of the new Experimental University. It brings together researchers and academics, students, business creators, economic partners, and local authorities in innovative collaboration on a subject of societal importance: the smart and resilient region in the face of all environmental challenges.

In relation to the economic world, IMREDD's missions are:

• To initiate partnership/transfer research actions,

• to foster expertise and innovation in businesses for economic development and job creation in the region,

• to create initial and ongoing training which directly meets the needs of businesses.

Imagined and designed around a Technology Platform The IMREDD, an open institute dedicated to sustainable development and the Smart City (Smart City Innovation Centre), aims to foster links with businesses and ensure effective connection and interaction between fundamental research and innovation. This is achieved through a cross-pollination approach involving stakeholders and methodologies, with the objective of understanding existing solutions, new needs, and future developments within the identified Strategic Business Areas.

•  DAS1: Environment
•  DAS2: Risks
•  DAS3: Energy
•  DAS4: Mobility

The «Smart City Innovation Centre» is a project financed with the support of the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund. The project also benefits from public co-financing from the Métropole Nice Côte d’Azur, the Department of the Alpes-Maritimes, the Région Sud Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, and the State, notably within the framework of the «Initiative d’Excellence» scheme of the «Investments for the Future» programme.»

An energy efficiency and city openness model

The IMREDD's future building is one of the flagship architectural projects of the Éco-Vallée Plaine du Var. Designed with the principles of energy efficiency and openness to the city, it will enable the integration of students, researchers, teachers and industrial partners around a smart, connected and sustainable city project. Its Smart City Innovation Centre (SCIC) allows the materialisation, on an industrial scale, of various key concepts and technologies for the Institute's Strategic Activity Domains, a true hub for experimentation, training and demonstration for the Smart City of the future.

A Learning Centre, located in the heart of the building, is a flexible space adaptable to different activities (conferences, team work). A versatile venue for training, exchange, meetings, and synergy, which spans two levels.

The future building has been designed with technologies that allow for the conscious and efficient use of energy and natural resources.

Designed to meet energy and environmental challenges (bioclimatic architecture, photovoltaic electricity production), the future building will allow for the experimentation of energy management through the implementation of innovative solutions integrated into a smart grid approach through reference projects such as «Smart campus» and H2020 IRIS mobilising the Azuréen public-private ecosystem on the Nice Meridia site.

As the driving force behind these projects, the IMREDD also fully involves its students through study projects, internships, and doctoral research. This notably includes students from its Master of Science programme, «Engineers for Smart Cities,» which opened in September 2016 and is dedicated to training managers in the field of smart city governance.

Image gallery of the inauguration event

Press File – IMREDD Building Inauguration